Organisational Resilience for Archive Services

“If we can see into the future it is because we stand on the shoulders of giants” Sir Isaac Newton

Introduction

Organisational Resilience is the organisation’s ability to respond to the challenges of the external environment in a way which enables the team to achieve positive outcomes and flourish individually and collectively (resilience is one of the three key themes identified in the strategy for the sector – Archives Unlocked).

What are the characteristics of resilient archive services?

The most resilient archive (and broader heritage and culture services tend to have the following characteristics:

Each of the Characteristics are defined below, along with links to the Archive Service Accreditation Standard. Characteristic One: Leadership

*Resilient archive services are led by visionary, forward-thinking and self-determined leaders who are passionate about continual improvement and making a difference to people and communities through archival services.*

Links to the Archive Service Accreditation Standard: 1.1. Mission Statement

Characteristic Two: Community Consultation and Engagement

*Resilient archive services are shaped by the needs and expectations of the community that they are established to serve, and designed and delivered in partnership with the community.*

Links to the Archive Service Accreditation Standard: 3.1. Access Policies 3.2. Access Plans and Planning 3.3. Access Information, Procedures and Activities

Characteristic Three: Governance and Management System

*Resilient archive services have a soundly-based, robust and transparent system of governance, management structure and operations, to ensure the long-term collection, preservation and accessibility of its collections and provide the best value for all stakeholders in the short, medium and long-term.*

Links to the Archive Service Accreditation Standard: 1.2. Governance and Management Structures 2.1. Collections Management 2.2. Collections Development 2.3. Collections Information 2.4. Collections Care and Conservation 3.1. Access Policies 3.2. Access Plans and Planning 3.3. Access Information, Procedures and Activities Characteristic Four: Outcomes Focus

Resilient archive services focus on agreeing and achieving desired outcomes for all stakeholders (i.e. what are we aiming to achieve through our service, for whom and for what purpose?)

Links to the Archive Service Accreditation Standard: 1.1. Mission Statement

Characteristic Five: Forward Planning

Resilient archive services plan effectively for the long, short and medium term, deploying available resources to greatest effect to ensure that they continue to achieve desired outcomes and remain adaptive and relevant in a changing internal and external environment.

Links to the Archive Service Accreditation Standard: 1.3. Forward Planning

Characteristic Six: Workforce Management and Development

Resilient archive services plan, recruit, manage and develop their professional and volunteer workforce so that the services are delivered to the professional standards demanded by the organisation’s legal obligations and forward planning ambitions, and so that the needs of the workforce are met.

Links to the Archive Service Accreditation Standard: 1.6. Resources: workforce

Characteristic Seven: Collaborative Working

Resilient archive services establish a wide range of collaborations in order to achieve enhanced outcomes, value for money and sustainability.

Characteristic Eight: Managing Financial and Physical Resources

Resilient archive services secure, plan and manage financial and physical resources to ensure the long-term preservation and security of the collections, achieve the desired outcomes and make the service more sustainable.

Links to the Archive Service Accreditation Standard: 1.4. Resources: buildings and storage 1.5. Resources: finance Characteristic Nine: Continual Improvement

*Resilient archive organisations continually improve the way in which they operate to provide enhanced value for all stakeholders.*

Characteristic 10: Results Achieved

*Resilient archive services achieve positive results relating to their desired outcomes (see Characteristic Four), the satisfaction of users, the satisfaction, development and resilience of their workforce (including volunteers) and the value for money that they provide.*

How can this help us?

Continual improvement in relation to these characteristics will enable your organisation to develop enhanced resilience and impact.

TNA has developed a full Archive Services Resilience Model, based on these ten characteristics, along with guidance on how to use this to generate organisational improvements (this can be found in the ‘Organisational Review, Change and Improvement’ section of this web page).